Restraint devices for beds are necessary to prevent a person from either subconsciously or consciously injuring themselves by movement or other activity. Patients in hospitals are especially concerned with the problem in that when tubes or dressings are attached to the body only minimal movement may take place in order to avoid accidentally pulling tubes or dressings from afflicted areas. Further, there are patients that will attempt to remove the tubes or dressings when unattended by hospital personnel due to seemingly unbearable discomfort.
Prior art devices have generally been unsatisfactory in that while restricting movement of the body they have also severely restricted movement of either the arms or legs or both and have too added to the patient's discomfort. Prior devices have also not been practical in allowing hospital personnel such as doctors and nurses easy access to the patient's body for treatment or bathing and further have not themselves been easily removeable for cleaning purposes.
Examples of prior art restraining devices or devices that attempt to enhance the comfort of a person lying in a bed may be had by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,683,267; 787,848; 2,695,414; 2,912,977; 1,368,582; 1,426,230; 3,344,446; 1,001,088; 921,439; and 3,535,718. Most pertinent among these prior art patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 921,439 and 3,344,446.
U.S. Pat. No. 921,439 describes a crib cover for restraint of an infant. The crib cover, however, restrains the movement of the infant's arms, legs, and torso with a cover that encircles the infant's neck to achieve the inventor's goal. In cases of patients in hospital beds the restraint of movement of the arms and legs can cause discomfort and in cases of infants there is a question of safety when the infant's neck is encircled by the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,446 has to do with an orthopedic bed covering that is used on a patient having a leg in traction. The intent of the patent is to provide a covering for the patient's lower body portions and also to permit easy access to the legs in traction. Restraint of movement is not the problem intended to be solved by the inventor described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,446.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of restraining a person's movement in a bed that allows movement of the person's arms and legs while gently restraining the person's torso.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will effectively restrain movement of a person in a bed and will do so in a most comfortable manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for restraining a patient's movement in a bed and to provide ease of access to the patient for routine hospital procedures.
It is a further object of the present invention to prevent a person from being able to grasp anything between a top and bottom sheet while allowing free movement of the arms and hands.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a restraining system that is simple, efficient, easily assembled and disassembled and provides a maximum of comfort for the person or patient.